How long does a typical suspension last?
 

Hey just wanted to get some input on how lets say a aspec suspension would last on a TL before you have to switch it out..Mostly highway driving...

Like in every Honda, I would expect it to last through out the life of the car. This is not a German car (bmw, audi) where you have to replace whole suspension at ~ 60-75k.

Thanks. Anyone else..

really?

I've owned a few hondas in my life time... I just changed out my wife's suspension after 130k miles. That was the original suspension from 1997. I went with a type r suspension for her, she likes to take freeway on/off ramps at crazy woman speeds.

I've always undersood that the struts could last for 150k+ miles

:huh: Where are you getting these baseless facts?

A suspension should last anywhere from roughly 100k-150k. Around 130k is fairly average for a suspension. No suspension will last the life of the car and not wear out, unless you don't care if the car bounces all over the road.

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Anyone else?


:toocool:

I've owned a few hondas in my life time... I just changed out my wife's suspension after 130k miles. That was the original suspension from 1997. I went with a type r suspension for her, she likes to take freeway on/off ramps at crazy woman speeds.

I've always undersood that the struts could last for 150k+ miles[/QUOTE]

Answer may depends on what you [Pele 96] mean by "suspension." Are you talking about struts, gas-filled strut inserts (or shocks), bushings, springs, anti-sway bars, or some combination thereof??
Bushings will probably go first. About 20 years ago, certain KYB strut inserts would leak after 5-6 years, but Konis (amongst others) would not. My mechanic didn't think my 1988 Integra needed new strut inserts a couple of years ago, even with 160,000 miles on them.

[
Well I have an aspec suspension and I was asking about the basic setup strut and spring







QUOTE=Will Y.]Answer may depends on what you [Pele 96] mean by "suspension." Are you talking about struts, gas-filled strut inserts, bushings, springs, anti-sway bars, or some combination thereof??
Bushings will probably go first. About 20 years ago, certain KYB strut inserts would leak after 5-6 years, but Konis (amongst others) would not. My mechanic didn't think my 1988 Integra needed new strut inserts a couple of years ago, even with 160,000 miles on them.[/QUOTE]

I was assuming that by 150k one would be done with a car anyway.
Both of my old civic's had the original suspension. one had 120k the other almost 150k before I sold them.

we have a 1994 honda accord at my house with 248k miles on it and it has had no problems with suspension. mind you this car is still driven by my mom who drives like.........a mom. granted the car isn't driven a lot anymore. suspension is fine, it's not as good as before, but it's not BAD.. depends on how you drive your car.

honestly, i have 4000 miles on my TL, and i can feel the suspension getting mushy already...then again, i drive like a dick. the TL is no fun to drive...not as fun as the 2003 civic si hatchback i had (lowered on coilovers with a progress rear sway bar / tie bar combo).... the TL has way too much shifting weight... i find it hard to find a good handling TL...unless it goes on a 800pound diet

but to answer your question...i think it should last at least 40-50k miles...it's a heavy car...and the suspension is pretty soft....that's my guesstimate.

Even the aspec? How about most of the miles comes from highway driving?

a-spec, stock....i think it will be the same...it's just the spring rates are a bit different. i highly doubt that honda will change the valving of the shock specifically for the a-spec only. that'd be kinda retarded considering "a-spec suspension must be sold with wheels". so if one of your shocks goes out...you have to buy a whole new suspension set and wheels? i highly doubt that.

and it depends on how your highways are. if they're like LA...ha...forget it...maybe 30-40k. but if you have nice roads, 50k should be easily attained...but also it all depends on your driving...i throw my car around like a little girl...when it's more like a fat sumo wrestler.

It will last longer than 50k miles. On my 2nd Gen CL I have 42k miles and the car rides fine and I have Comptech springs on stock shocks(on for roughly 20k miles). Plus I auto-cross the car and drive like an animal. I drive all over North Jersey, PA and NYC which are not the best roads.

My family has never had problem getting 100k out of the suspensions on our car even when we race the cars.

My 2 Cents:

I think the engineers at Honda/Acura factored in the weight of the car and the kind of road feel they wanted when they designed the suspension. What they could not factor into the design was the way that the car will be driven. The harder you drive the TL the sooner you will have to replace the suspension. Potholes, bumps, uneven roads will all have an effect on the life of the suspension. Lowering the TL will shorten it's life. I recently spoke to Marcus at Heeltoe auto because I am planning to lower my TL by about 1 inch and was wondering the same thing. He mentioned that stock suspension should go for at least 150k. I guess that 150k is the baseline for most suspensions. Add or subtract according to how you drive.

I asked a dealer a long time ago about A-spec shocks replacement. The parts guy said that it is possible to replace JUST the shocks, because they have their own unique part numbers. I don't know if it's still true, it's changed, or I was simply misinformed.

However, I do believe that the A-spec shocks have their unique valving. It is almost impossible to achieve a good balance of ride quality and handling just by utilizing different, lower, stiffer springs. The shocks should match the springs.

IMO, suspension should last at least 100k, unmodified. If modified, well, nobody can determine how long they will last. However, after 100k, the rubbers might crack or deform or simply harden so they cannot isolate the vibrations effectively anymore.

Springs and other metal components should last the life of the car. Shocks, rubber bushings should be checked or replaced regularly, especially on cars with higher mileage.

IMHO the suspension of your vehicle should last at least 200,000 providing such factors such as where you drive ( city vs highway), loads, and how you drive.
I've had 3 cars with over 200k and never changed any suspension component, i do mostly highway driving, some backroads and no city driving with little or no load besides myself and I try to avoid POTHOLES ... :thumbsup:

My 03 CL needed new front shocks at 45,000 miles. I noticed a hissing noise as I would go over speed bumps. When I took it in they said my shocks were leaking. Needless to say I was not autocrossing or driving the car hard. I think it was just a fluke. I also ended up needing a new rear main seal on that car. It started leaking oil at 49K. I caught it right before the warranty ran out. Talk about a lucky find.

^^something sounds really wrong there. I had on 03TLs with over 70k and everything was mint except 4 the tires. (stock susp.) and i got an extended warranty to 100k with the new tranny.
i just ordered H&R sport springs for my 06. 1.4F 1.3R. i searched for H&R on the forum & got nothing but i went ahead & ordered them cuz its a good company

I got 220,000 out of my old legend without a susp problem.

Bumping a very old thread here. Now that there are 3G TLs out there with high miles. How long are peoples OEM suspension's lasting? Anyone have to replace the suspension due to poor ride (or worse yet, unsafe ride)?

My cousin has 140K on his 05 TL and it runs normal since the day he got it. Granted , he does drive 80% highway.

You also have a 3G, right? I assume yours is newer. If so, have you driven his and is the right similar to yours?

Nice thread to bump... I would also like to hear from those 04-06 TL-ers with higher miles.

Has anybody had to change their suspension do to a poor ride?

Anybody over 100K with A-spec suspension? How has the A-spec suspension held up?

I had 108k miles on my original suspension (05) before I switched to the ASPEC. Had zero issues with the original set.

Some people are pickier than others. I replaced my OEM shocks with Konis at 45,000 miles. They were just barely softening up if you really paid attention. That was 90% highway miles back then. Mine did not *need* replacing but they were getting softer and I wanted Konis. At 100,000+, your shocks are worn. They may still be functioning but they are no where near what they were when new. It's a gradual decline so people don't realize how soft they've gotten until they install new ones.

I had to replace my fronts at 80K miles and still running the OEM rears at 144
k miles